Maui, Hawaii Travel Guide: Reviews on food, shopping, beaches and more!

Bethany Montgomery
Nov 15, 2016
13 min read

Updated: Jul 19

Matt and I just spent our first anniversary on our dream island, Maui.

When we first met that was one of the places that we both agreed was somewhere we always wanted to visit. but never had the chance. We spent a ton of time doing research because, we had never been to Hawaii.

I had never even stepped foot in the Pacific ocean. Throughout all of our research we both thought about how helpful it would have been to have everything laid out for us so we didn't have to spend so much time and energy finding restaurants, shopping, beaches, etc. because there are so many! We traveled to almost every part of the island so this list isn't just confined to one particular space. It doesn't take long to travel to the different areas so that was great!

First I want to say that Maui is the most beautiful place I have ever been. It has everything. Tropical beaches, mountains, rainforests, volcanos and they are all absolutely BEAUTIFUL.

There are several areas on Maui; Kaanapali, Lahaina, Kapalua, Wailuku, Kahului, Kihei, Wailea, and Hana. We stayed in Kihei. I will try to break them down, the best i can, and describe them for you.

Locations

Lahaina:From Kihei it took us about an hour to get to Lahaina. Not because it is an hour away, but because everyone wants to get into Lahaina. There is so much to do; shopping, eating, etc. that it is a pretty popular place. If you love being around a lot of people this is the place for you. It is a very pretty drive getting there, we actually like it better than the road to Hana (oops).
Kapalua: This was a nice resort area with several golf courses. We drove through here and stopped at a little convenience store that had take home gifts, food, deserts, and groceries.
Kahului: This is where the airport is. We landed here and grabbed our rental car before heading out to Kihei which was about 20 minutes away. There are shopping centers (such as Target, Lowe's, Home Depot) and gas stations. Also, since we are gym rats we went to The Gym Maui, which was located in this area.
Kihei: This is the area where we stayed. There were several beaches super close (I will break these down too in the beaches section). The beaches were not crowded at all. It seemed like every beach we went to we had plenty of room. We are used to the busy beaches at Myrtle and Virginia Beach if that helps. There were lots of really close restaurants and shopping centers. We liked this area because it wasn't as busy as the others. Most of the reviews below are from this area.

Wailea: This, to us, was the upscale area. There were high-end shopping malls with stores such as Gucci, Louis Vuttion, Prada, etc. We visited this area due to the GPS leading us to an ice cream shop :) It was a really nice area and the beaches are cool also.

Hana: You may have heard of the famous "Road to Hana". We never actually made it all the way to Hana so I cant give a full review. What I will say is that there are a ton of people who love Hana. My parents went and loved Hana and we found a ton of reviews on the road to Hana being awesome. We met some locals who told us it was a waste of time, however, we still wanted to go because of all the hype. I am not going to lie to you we made it to MM11 and turned around. It was super rainy on the road to Hana that it felt like we were in a completely different place. The roads are super narrow and they don't recommend bringing rental cars because of the road conditions. There are so many people traveling on the road that it makes it super hard to travel on. It is very narrow and curvy so it did make me feel sick. There are little trucks along the road that sell fresh fruits and handmaid items so that was cool. There are lots of blogs out there that lay out different things you can see on Hana so I would recommend Googling that.

So lets talk about food, because, seriously their food is beast!

Good Eats

Nalu's - This place is amazing! It was my favorite. First off, its really cute. Its an open restaurant so no doors or anything. They offer fresh fruit water. The chickens and roosters roam free throughout the restaurant. Oh and the food was AWESOME! We got Hawaiian pancakes one time and a marlin omelette and the big breakfast. I definitely recommend it!

Kihei Cafe - This is a really cute cafe across from the beach. Seating is outside. and the food was great. I got blackened ahi tuna with eggs, potatoes, and a biscuit. Matt got pancakes.

Diamonds - This is a bar. We went here due to Sunday football starting at 7am. We got a normal breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast and also split french toast. This place has a great atmosphere and the staff is really nice. Plenty of TVs, all games were on. Cowboys won so I was a happy girl!
Homemade Cafe - This is a little hole in the wall restaurant. There is seating inside and out. It looks like a Chinese restaurant, but they served breakfast. I ordered the salmon plate and Matt ate an omelette. The food was surprisingly good.

S & Q's Coffee and Shaved Ice Shack - This is a little shack across from the beach with outside seating. They sell maui coffee, pastries, waffles, acai bowls and some a la carte breakfast items. I have never had an acai bowl so i gave it a try with the Hawaiian Acai Bowl. It was really yummy. I got a small and it was still too much for me to eat. Matt ordered 2 waffles, peanut butter and pineapple.

Amigo's Mexican - I ordered the chicken tacos with beans and rice. Matt ordered a burrito. They were nice portions and the food was really good. Matt's LOVED his burrito.
Coconuts Fish Tacos - So my favorite restaurant has always been Cabo Fish Taco in Blacksburg, VA. They had the best fish tacos I've ever tasted until I tried Coconuts. These tacos have 7 layers with 16 different flavors. They are absolutely amazing! They are huge and its really hard to eat without using a fork, but they recommend that you use your hands to get all the flavor at once so we did. We were a mess afterward, but so was everyone else. It was worth it!
808 Bistro - We ate here to have a nice quiet dinner that wasn't a taco truck (we love taco trucks). Its an open restaurant so you get the island breeze with the smell of salt water while you eat (LOVE). I ordered the chicken Alfredo because I was craving chicken and pasta and Matt ordered the stuffed chicken. Both of our meals were awesome! The menu had some pricey items, but it was mostly moderate.

Drums of the Pacific Luau - Speaking specifically about the food it was ok....It was served buffet style with unlimited food and drinks. I really liked the pork and Matt liked the chicken, but other than that it was hard to eat. The deserts, however, were great! We didn't drink, but the fruit punch was good. We were also told by the couple at the table the drinks were watered down. I thought it was the luau we chose, but we were told by some locals that the food served at the luaus is all the same. Not sure about that, but we will try another one next time to see.

Horhitos Mobile Taqueria - This is a little fish taco truck along the beach. We both got fish tacos and of course they were awesome!
South Maui Fish Company - This was another food truck that served fish tacos. There is outside seating and the guys who own the truck are super nice. They have a little grill outside their truck and they grill the fresh fish in front of you. These tacos were really good! This one was Matt's favorite taco truck.

Maui Fish Tacos - This is a little chain restaurant that serves fish tacos. They offer big portions and a salsa bar. The pineapple salsa was really good and the tacos were great also. They have a TV showing a picture slide show that had several celebrities on it that have visited their restaurant.

Cafe O'Lei - This restaurant is on the 2nd floor near S & Q's. Its really nice inside and you can check out the beach while you eat. We both ordered the blackened mahi. It was really good, but we didn't get the best service from the waiter. The other staff giving water and picking up our plates were great though! The menu had some pricey items, but they also sold moderate as well. They served many different dishes, as well as, sushi.

Tiki Bar and Grill - This place was a little hard to find, but once you do you are in the middle of a ton of shops and other restaurants. It has a bar and outdoor seating. I ordered the kosher beef hot dog and Matt ordered the BBQ sandwich. We also had the nachos. We were not disappointed in the food. It seemed like lots of people came there to drink. The drink portions were really big!
Maui Brick Oven Pizza - This is a gluten free restaurant so if you need gluten free this is the place for you. If thats not your thing and want a pizza do NOT go here. There were other pizza places that sold really good pizza. Not that this pizza was bad, but it wasn't pizza we were used too. The crust was pre-made frozen crust and it seemed like it was a family who owned the restaurant. The daughter was younger and was the one making our pizza. She was jumping all around and digging her hands (without gloves) into all of the toppings. The mother was kinda standing over us the entire time having a conversation with her daughter and another family member so it was hard to have our own convo. I was not impressed with this place at all. We ordered the Hawaiian pizza and BBQ pork bowl. The BBQ pork bowl was okay, but again, that pizza was BLEH!
Honu Seafood and Pizza - This restaurant is really nice. You get a great view of the beach and the sunset was beautiful. The menu can be a little pricey, but it is worth it. First, they give you chickpeas as soon as you sit. I've made baked chickpeas at home before and they tasted nothing like these. These chickpeas were AMAZING! We ate 2 bowls of them. :) We ordered half ahi tuna pizza and half white gulf shrimp pizza. I loved the ahi tuna pizza and Matt liked both, but preferred the shrimp. We also ordered the shrimp sandwich and it was really good also.
Fork and Salad - I really wish we had one of these in Roanoke. I would probably eat more salads. Not sure if its a chain or not, but its like a Subway or Chipolte for salads. You can make your own, which i did, or order something off the menu. Matt ordered a fish sandwich. I really liked it, but it wasn't my favorite. I would prefer a taco truck. :)

Deserts & Drinks

Wow Wow Lemonade - So this place claims to have the best lemonade. They have lots of different types of lemonades you can choose from. I ordered the strawberry mint lemonade and Matt ordered the lava flow which was like a pina coloda. Both were really good and tasted fresh and natural which I really liked. They also have fresh Kombucha on tap so i got some of the Acai blend. It was fresh and delicious. If you stop by there make sure you get the mason jar cup. I love this cup and have used it everyday since I've gotten back.

Belle Surf Cafe - This is a super cute cafe that sells Maui coffee and pastries. Matt got an Americano and I got an iced coffee with a splash of coconut milk and coconut flavor.

Lapperts Hawaii Ice cream and Coffee - This was the ice cream place we visited in Wailea. We both got the chocolate Oreo dream. AMAZING! They also sell deserts and coffee.
Maui Pies - ok so hands down the best pie i've ever tasted. We ordered a 6" strawberry mango pie. WOW! They sell tons of pies and they sell them by the slice, 6", or the entire pie. You have to check this place out!

Peace, Love, and Shave Ice - I had never had shave ice before, but my mom told me I had to try it. We waited until the last day and stopped by this little colorful shack inside of the shopping center near our resort. It is really cute and the owner is super nice. She told us all about her favorite places in Maui and how she got her business started. I ordered the small natural coconut, black cherry and tigers blood and Matt got the pineapple, black cherry, and strawberry. Ok these cups of shave ice are HUGE, but i ate every bit because it was so yummy! I love shave ice now because of this little cute shack. Also, she is the only shack on the island selling natural flavors.

Beaches

The best things to do is grab a map. We followed a map to get to all of the beaches listed below. They are all beautiful, but I did find out some things from the locals I wanted to share.

Big Beach - Big Beach is located on the south end in Wailea. In my opinion, this was the most beautiful beach on the island to lay out. The water was perfectly blue, it wasn't too busy when we went, and there were the big rocks behind us that were breath taking. On the way to big beach there was a little fruit stand where locals were selling fresh pineapple, coconut, papaya, homemade wood sculptures, and more. This was a cool experience. We stopped and grabbed a ton of fruit and chatted with the locals about the different beaches. I recommended stopping here. The most important thing I leaned about this beach was that it is dangerous. When walking onto the beach the "guards" are on a megaphone asking people to not get into the water. I also spoke to several locals who stated there are deaths all the time at this beach because the waves are so strong. Matt wasn't scared and got in several times. I, on the other hand, was a little nervous. I got in to dip my feet and was still sucked in by the waves. BE VERY CAREFUL here. There are porta pottys located outside of the walkway to the beach.

Little Beach - We didn't get to visit this beach, but did find out on the last day when speaking to the owner of Peace, Love, and Shave Ice it was a nude beach. It is on the other side of Big Beach (behind the rock).
Black Sand Beach - Would you have guessed this beach has black sand? This beach is located near little / big beach near the park. We stopped to check it out, but didn't lay out of get in the water. The beach wasn't busy, but there were a few snorkelers.

Kalama / Wailea Beach Park - This beach was closest to our resort so we visited a lot. They offer surf lessons and paddle boarding. There are also a lot of taco trucks in this area so its easy to grab some food and go back out to the beach. There are bathrooms here as well.

DT Beach Park - This beach is up North in Kapalua. We visited this beach to watch the sunset. There was actually a wedding reception going on so we had a bunch of really energetic wedding goers to watch after the sun set. Very pretty beach. There are bathrooms and picnic tables to eat.

Honolua Bay - This was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. We drove up north, after speaking to a local, to see some big waves. There were lots of pull offs so you could look at the ocean and views. Some people were turning around before getting to Honolulu Bay, but we kept driving. I totally recommend going here and climbing the rocks to see over the edge. It is AMAZING looking over the cliffs.

Twin Falls - Like I mentioned before we didn't make it too far on the road to Hana. MM11 had a place called Twin Falls which is a very easy hike to a waterfall. There were a ton of people on the trail so we really didn't enjoy this as much as the cliffs in Honolulu Bay. There were also locals selling fresh fruit and coconut here as well.
Road to Lahaina - This was about an hour dive from where we stayed, but totally beautiful and worth the drive.

Shopping

Jasmine's Boutique / At Witt's End - My mom had recommend I go here. The owner, Jasmine is super nice. She hand makes all the jewelry in her shops. You can buy cute beach dresses, cool tank tops, and jewelry.

Outlets - There are outlets stores located in Lahaina. They don't have a ton of stores, but if you are looking for a Banana Republic or Guess you can find it here.
Kihei Market - We ran into this place after eating at the Tiki Bar and Grill. They sell a ton of touristy items and gifts for you to take home to loved ones. Most of the items are really cheap and small enough to put in your carry on.
Sand People - This is located in the Wailea shopping center. I found the most beautiful tote bag here. If we would have had more room in our bags going home, we would have purchased more.

Wailea Shopping Center - This is where all the Ritzy people go. It has all your designer brands, expensive restaurants, and amazing ice cream (listed above). We took the time to look at the art galleries, but obviously didn't buy anything from Prada, Gucci, or Dolce & Gabbana.
The Gym Maui - You know we had to hit up a gym while we were here. We went here a total of 2 times. This is a cross fit/mma style gym that has everything you would need to get a good workout in. The staff is really nice and you get to workout with locals.

Entertainment

Drums of the Pacific Luau - I know I spoke about the food above so this review is all for the entertainment aspect of the Drums of the Pacific. The storyline and show was phenomenal. I was very entertained.

Seafire Cruise & Snorkel - If you want to go on a snorkel cruise I HIGHLY recommend Seafire. The staff was unbelievable. They truly care that you have a great experience. They were very knowledgeable and took the time to explain the different fish you saw in the water. The called you by name while in the water to show you cool stuff and made us feel special. We had a blast snorkeling and seeing how beautiful the ocean life is. The Seafire was said to be the safest boat and was a great price.